National media outlets are releasing their midseason all-star teams this week and Donald is receiving prominent mention. The senior was named a Midseason All-American by both CBSSports.com and ESPN.com today.

Moreover, ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabachrated Donald one of the nation’s Top 5 defensive players of the season’s first half.

Donald (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) has been a relentless force for Pitt’s defense this season with eight quarterback sacks and 12 total tackles for loss. He leads the country in both sacks per game (1.60 avg.) and TFLs per game (2.40 avg.).

Donald, who has at least one sack in each game this year, is college football’s active career leader with 26.5 sacks. That total ranks tied for fourth all-time at Pitt.

A strong candidate for postseason All-America honors, Donald is on the watch list for no fewer than five prestigious defensive awards, including the Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.

The last Pitt defensive tackle to earn first-team All-America honors was Marc Spindler in 1989. If midterm grades are any indication, Donald is poised to add his name to the list of the Panthers’ all-time greats.

Donald and the Panthers (3-2, 2-2 ACC) will host Old Dominion (4-2) this Saturday at Heinz Field at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS in Pittsburgh and can also be seen on other Regional Sports Network affiliates throughout the country (LINK: RSN TV affiliates for Pitt-ODU.)